BETTING TIPS:

Chelsea sit fourth in the Premier League table and it’s fairly clear that the London side won’t be challenging for the title this season.

Maurizio Sarri might have been deploying false psychology when insisting that his Blues team are not on the same level as Manchester City and Liverpool, although a gap of seven and eight points respectively seems to bear out his comments after sixteen games played.

Chelsea travel to the AMEX Stadium on Sunday afternoon feeling decidedly upbeat following that excellent win over City at Stamford Bridge, although this should be offset by the fact that the last two road trips have seen the team return home with nothing.

A 3-1 reverse at Wembley saw Tottenham blow their London rivals away in the opening exchanges before Sarri’s side were defeated at Molineux after taking the lead and they really weren’t up for a scrap in the end.

Chelsea Firm Favourites

Despite those recent setbacks, Chelsea are overwhelming favourites at 4/9 with BetVictor to claim a maximum haul and we’re not sure that represents a value proposition despite this bookmaker offering best price as usual.

The visitors have only won 57% of their away games thus far and will face a Brighton side who have only lost once at home all season, with that coming against Tottenham in what was a decidedly unfortunate reverse against a team who have pulled up so many trees on the road.

You could honestly do a lot worse than back Brighton at 8/1, with William Hill among the bookmakers chalking up that particular price and Chris Hughton’s side have already claimed the scalp of Manchester United this term and know how to get the job done in front of their own supporters.

Hughton would privately admit that a draw would be a boost ahead of a busy festive fixture schedule, with Betfair chalking up 7/2 that this encounter ends all square and we’re far happier to consider this on the 1X2 market rather than the stingy odds about Chelsea.

Consider a Low-Scoring Seagulls Win

If Brighton are to win the game (and we wouldn’t regard it as a shock if they do), it’s worth considering a 1-0 winning scoreline and Bet365 kindly put this up at odds of 22/1. The Seagulls have already triumphed with a solitary strike on three occasions this season so they have the blueprint.

Furthermore, Albion have scored in every home match this season and so it’s worth considering both teams to score at an odds-against quote if you feel that Chelsea will follow up that win over Manchester City by finding the net at least once in this clash.

Betfair have the 11/10 available and we really feel that Brighton can be supported with a +1.5 goal start on the Asian Handicap considering that this bet would have copped in all of the Seagulls’ home matches this season.

The Sussex side have a healthy 21 points from their sixteen games played and are close to cementing their status as part of the Premier League fixtures and fittings these days, with BetVictor offering a backable 5/7 about the home side on the handicap meaning they simply have to avoid a two-goal defeat or bigger.